Rivalry renewed In Tallahassee
Saturday 27 November will be the 56th meeting between the Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles and could prove to be one of the games of the weekend. The no. 22 ranked Seminoles are in position to have a share of the Atlantic
Coastal Conference Atlantic division title, while the unranked Gators will be trying to get to their highest possible bowl game.
Florida is 33-20-2 in the past meetings between these two squads, with Florida State’s last victory coming back in 2003.
Florida’s season so far
The Gators started their promising season with a four-game winning streak over opponents Miami (Ohio), South Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky.
It was not until week four that former number one Alabama ended their winning streak, handily beating the Gators 31-6.
The losses did not stop there as in the following weeks after the Alabama game, Florida had to play more of their Southeastern Conference (SEC) rivals in Louisiana State University (LSU) and Mississippi State. The Gators fell in both games: 33-29 to LSU and
10-7 to Mississippi State.
Florida rebounded from their three-game losing streak with a 34-31 overtime victory over Georgia and continued their success the following week with a victory over Vanderbilt.
Two weeks ago, the Gators were defeated by the South Carolina Gamecocks, who subsequently clinched the SEC east division with that victory.
The Gators got back into the winner's circle with a victory last weekend over Appalachian State and will be looking to carry that momentum into this weekend against the Seminoles for their season finale.
Florida State’s season to date
The Seminoles opened the season with a victory over Samford but were defeated by the Sooners in week two by an embarrassing 47-17 score.
The loss must have woken up the Seminoles as they went on a five-game winning streak over opponents Brigham Young University, Wake Forest, Virginia, Miami (Florida) and Boston College.
In week nine and 10, the Seminoles had to battle their North Carolina foes, which included North Carolina Tar Heels and North Carolina State Wolfpack. The Seminoles lost both games, setting up a must-win situation against Clemson in week 11.
Florida State beat Clemson and last week defeated Maryland to bring their record to 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the ACC.
Florida’s keys to victory
Gators should have nothing to worry about as head coach Urban Meyer is 5-0 against the Seminoles over his tenure, but just to be safe, quarterback John Brantley will have to get off to a quick start passing the ball to open up the field for their 48th
rushing game.
"Each team's different," Meyer said according to ww.al.com. "In '08 and '09 it was a mature, older, highly executing team. This one, we've just got to play...We've got so many young players, playing in that environment. We push it hard in the off-season,
talk about it. But I think it's all just execution in practice and, if it's any indication, we had a really good practice yesterday."
Running back Jeffery Demps has 487 yards on 80 touches and three touchdowns. His counterpart, back-up quarterback and converted running back Trey Burton, has 11 touchdowns and averages 4.9 yards per rushing attempt. Open the field up and the Gators will be
effective on offence.
Florida State’s keys to victory
The Seminoles defence will need to step up against Florida and prove why they are ranked 14th in the nation in points against. They rank second in the ACC in defending against the rush but they will need to work on their secondary work
as they rank ninth in passing defence.
Offensively, Christian Ponder needs to continue what he is doing and that is making good decisions with the football. His 61.9% accuracy has helped the Seminoles offences play with two dimensions and certainly will be called upon against the Gators on Saturday.
If his offensive line can protect him to give him time, the offence will be effective.
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